Cable Box- Speaker Connections

[Stewart]

Objective: I would like to, inexpensively, install all weather speakers (possibly a "rock" type) by my deck and create the very basic ability to listen to cable music channels from my "Explorer 8300 HD" cable box.

I'm unable to connect other speakers to my LG surround sound, model LFD790. I was told to go from the cable box to an amp then to the speakers or I could connect from the box to my existing stereo receiver then to the speakers. The later would enable listening to FM stations and CD's etc. in addition to the cable music.

Question:
#1- Do I need the amp or receiver or can I connect speakers directly to the cable box "audio out" with an RCA adapter etc.?

#2- If amp or receiver is needed, can you provide receiver connection configuration options?

Thank you in advance
Stewart

 

[Adam]

Stewart,

Welcome to the forum!

The basic gist of it is this - the audio signal needs to be amplified at some point. The RCA jacks on equipment have a low-level (or "line-level") signal that can't power a speaker. You can buy active speakers (they have the amps built in), and those would need to be plugged into an electrical outlet. Most speakers are passive (not amplified), so you need to amplify the signal before sending it to the speakers. That would be accomplished by the receiver or a separate amp. If you use an amp, you'll want a way to control the volume. "Integrated" amps have a volume control built-in.

So, if you have passive speakers, you can't just connect them to the RCA jacks on the cable box. If you have active speakers, then you could do that.

Adam

 

[Stewart]

Adam, thank you! Great explanation.